


embers, everlasting

by Makowo



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Quirks (My Hero Academia), Angst, F/M, Fluff, Immortality, Rebirth, Supernatural Elements, Temporary Character Death, has nothing to do with bnha tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21612046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Makowo/pseuds/Makowo
Summary: Wings, bright and colored in flame, remind her of his depressing fate
Relationships: Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	embers, everlasting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pegasister60](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pegasister60/gifts).



> This is a fic based on my friend's quirk au!! Please go check out their tumblr(same url as their username here!) bcs i love their art and h. they are wonderful 💖💖

Within the darkness, underneath the clouds of everlasting ash and pollution, a boy sits at the edge of a fallen building. He stares out across the darkened city, legs crossed and hands on either side of him. His skin is clean and clothes lacking any sort of cuts or tears, an unusual look for someone in this apocalyptic place. But the wings that lie folded against the back of his hoodie, fiery red and orange feathers with streaks of dull green in their centers offers a hint to those that spot him.

Footsteps upon the roof’s concrete surface make the winged young teen turn. His eyes light up at the sight of the purple-cloaked girl, shooting her a warm smile. “Kirigiri-san.”

“Naegi-kun.” The girl greets with a curt nod, walking over and sitting down beside him. “I assume you have a good reason for being out here rather than inside the Foundation building?”

“Mhm!” He chirps, kicking his legs mindlessly as he turns his bright hazel gaze to the destruction beyond them. “I gotta shed, so I wanted to be out here.”

Ah, that explains it then. She drops all suspicion, following his gaze to the dull brown and red scenery. “I see. You should have gotten someone to come with you, then. You become vulnerable.”

“What? It’s not like someone can kill me.”

“Doesn’t mean someone could cut your wings and take you for whatever they wish.”

He stops kicking his legs. “Oh. Right.” He says flatly, then chuckles. “Sorry.”

It’s almost childish, the way he speaks and acts. When needed he can do perfectly fine, and sometimes act much more mature than any one of them honestly. But most of the time he’s simple and optimistic. She enjoys it, but pessimism creates darker ideas bloom. Like constantly starting over could be having an affect on his mental health. She’ll have to get that investigated at some point. Just to be safe.

Kyoko crosses her arms. “It’s alright.”

Silence settles between them, though not quite. The sounds of screams and cries, sounds of _despair_ , those allow no silence to come to anyone anymore. It’s especially hard for those with enhanced hearing, or in Kyoko’s case, selective enhanced hearing. She can height one of her senses to sacrifice others momentarily, and hearing can become troubling to use out in this hell on earth.

“Hey, Kirigiri-san?” She blinks, pulled from deep within her thoughts. Could have spiraled a bit, had it not been for him. Sometimes she swears he has a sixth sense for that kind of stuff, not that she’ll ever know. “What were you thinking when they… c-clipped my wings?”

She recalls how when they were picked up from the school after escaping, some Future Foundation researchers wished to experiment with their unique quirks, along with Makoto’s powerful one since it was so new. He took a bit of coercing(he was fourteen in mental age by then. And still riding a high of rebellion against those older than him), and she regrets it greatly. Because one of them thought it’d be a great idea to clip his wings. And when he walked into the dining hall with the right wing lacking its beautifully fiery glow, instead dyed in dull grays and blacks, Kyoko’s sight sharpened to catch dull red flecks of blood speckled upon his cut feathers… that’s when she knew they shouldn’t be completely trusted. No matter what.

“They were unsightly.” She replies in complete honesty, and she notices the way the embers of his wings dull. “I hated them because I know it _hurt.”_

“They didn’t.” A sharp look from deep purple eyes makes his expression turn to shame. “... Okay, it hurt a bit. B-but I’m better now!” He chirps, vibrant wings ruffling mindlessly behind him. “That’s all that matters.”

The option to retort presents itself clearly to her, but a preference not to fight a one-sided battle with him forces her to go silent once more. And as the seconds tick by, she studies him. He’s so open with his emotions, it’s like she could read his thoughts. Going from happy, to neutral, then crestfallen. An attempt to cheer himself up, but the thought goes sour and so too does his mood rot.

“Hey… Kirigiri-san?” He murmurs before she can question him.

“Hm?”

“What… what happened last time I died? During the fight with the Monokumas?” He asks, with shaky hesitance Kyoko is aware he knows barely any reason for.

It takes her a moment to answer. Because honestly, she wished not to recall it. Recall how only a few weeks ago, he had collapsed to his knees and been forced to watch others struggle in the street, herself included, whilst he sat with claws plunged through his chest and poking out the back. And he burst into flames after a few seconds, as expected.

_She recalls watching the flames wreath and blur his form, but no ashes came. Instead, he stood up, a blazing inferno with wings that flared up so high she swore they touched the sky. Talons replaced nails, ashen feathers rising out from the hungry flames as he cawed so loud it rang in her ears throughout his vicious rampage. And worse, recalling Naegi, standing within a sea of melted metal and flesh, vibrant piercing into her as she shook before dissipating, only leaving a pile of ash and a stirring child trembling with terror for reasons his memory lacked answers to._

“... You got swarmed by them. It took a bit to get you out. That is all.”

If he knew of the many discrepancies in her response, he bothered not with pointing them out. “Ah, good. It had been… really awful during that time. Like, remember how I said everything gets numb and cold, then suddenly my emotions and senses get cranked up to eleven when I revive? Yeah, that happened, but then…” He visibly winces, and her heart aches a little more. “I-I don’t know, it just lasted for a long time. A really, _really_ long time.” He goes silent, a small frown on his face before he quickly bounces back. “I’ll get it checked out though! I’m sure Kizakura-kun can figure out why it happened.”

“Kizakura simply analyzes quirks. He doesn’t catch the abnormalities in them.” He is simply a scout, his entire quirk centering around analyzing people’s strengths, weaknesses, and nature of their quirks. “I doubt he’d be able to offer an explanation.”

Naegi hums, but stops short of replying properly. “A-ah, I… gotta shed now.” He coughs, some ashes already spilling from his mouth. Kyoko stands, helping the boy up and away from the roof’s edge. “S-sorry, you probably don’t wanna… w-watch this…”

“It’s fine.” She replies with a swift shake of her head, pulling away as the heat becomes too much. “It’s something you need to do. I hold no problem with it.” She hates he has to go through this, however. Eternally a teen, never to die. She likes that they’ll never lose him, but knows well that it’s selfish because lives around him can be lost with ease, lacking the immortality Makoto happens to hold.

He laughs at that; she isn’t sure why, but perhaps it’s delirium from his incoming demise. “Hey, at least I’m not making a mess in the founda-” He stops, eyes going blank before flashing a fiery red and orange.

And a bonfire sparks to life before the Ex-Detective, faced within strained indifference as Naegi’s body burns away. It’s a bonfire, but one not bound to attract any despairlings creeping around the city. The scent of burning flesh and flames crackling in the night air are the norm now, and thus is paid no mind. Still, Kyoko cuts off her sense of smell to sharpen other senses in the required exchange, preferring not to catch the scent that makes her gloved hands sizzle with scarcely recalled trauma.

It takes only moments for the flames to die down and for Kyoko to allow her sense of smell to return, a pile of ash all that’s left of the boy. Except, when the ashes blow away in a rising wind, revealing a five-year-old Ultimate Hope caked in black and gray, wings casting a glow over his sleeping form. The sight elicits a rare grin from Kyoko; of course a child would be tired at 3 am. And it falls, because _oh, it’s 3 am and Makoto never lets himself shed at the dead of night and usually wakes up at this time because of a nightmare, and it should have been clear to her that it was bad because he left the building entirely-_

Kyoko blinks at a loud trill, the source being the ash-cloaked child staring at her with a half-asleep gaze. “Kyo…?” He yawns, visibly swaying left and right on the ground.

She hushes him, marching over to scoop up the phoenix boy. “It’s okay, go ahead and rest. I’ll carry you back.” She murmurs with practiced ease. After so many cycles, she’s learned exactly how to take care of him in the early stages of the next. They say she’d be a perfect mom, but it’s merely constant studying. She eventually caught on, that’s all. She didn’t really need to… _raise_ him. Not a traditional kid situation.

“M’kayyy…” He says, trailing off as he practically passes out in her arms. That sure does make things a whole lot easier. She sighs and shakes her head, a soft chuckle leaving her. As always, he’s far too cute for how messed up this truly is. Putting her thoughts to the side, she marches through the door leading back down the building, the sounds of despair echoing through the world fading into the background as she instead focuses on the pure boy in her arms, bringing him back to the foundation to continue on their lives.

**Author's Note:**

> Lackluster ending and description but!!!!! im proud of this uwu


End file.
